.\" $XConsortium: XF86Conf.man,v 1.5 95/01/16 13:16:10 kaleb Exp $ .\" $XFree86: xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Conf.man,v 3.11 1995/01/28 15:46:20 dawes Exp $ .TH XF86Config 4/5 "Version 3.1.1" "XFree86" .SH NAME XF86Config - Configuration File for XFree86 .SH DESCRIPTION .I XFree86 uses a configuration file called \fBXF86Config\fP for its initial setup. This configuration file is searched for in the following places: .sp .in 8 .nf /etc/XF86Config /lib/X11/XF86Config.\fIhostname\fP /lib/X11/XF86Config .fi .in -8 .LP where refers to the root of the X11 install tree. .PP This file is composed of a number of sections. Each section has the form: .sp .in 8 .nf Section "\fISectionName\fP" \fISectionEntry\fP ... EndSection .fi .in -8 .PP The section names are: .sp .in 8 .nf \fBFiles\fP (File pathnames) \fBServerFlags\fP (Server flags) \fBKeyboard\fP (Keyboard configuration) \fBPointer\fP (Pointer configuration) \fBMonitor\fP (Monitor description) \fBDevice\fP (Graphics device description) \fBScreen\fP (Screen configuration) .fi .PP The \fBFiles\fP section is used to specify the default font path and the path to the RGB database. These paths can also be set from the command line (see \fIXserver(1)\fP). The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B FontPath \fI"path"\fP sets the search path for fonts. This path is a comma separated list of directories which the X server searches for font databases. Multiple \fBFontPath\fP entries may be specified, and they will be concatenated to build up the fontpath used by the server. .sp X11R6 allows the X server to request fonts from a font server. A font server is specified by placing a "/:" entry into the fontpath. For example, the fontpath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/,tcp/zok:7100" tells the X server to first try to locate the font in the local directory /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc. If that fails, then request the font from the \fIfont server\fP running on machine zok listening for connections on TCP port number 7100. .TP 8 .B RGBPath \fI"path"\fP sets the path name for the RGB color database. .PP The \fBServerFlags\fP section is used to specify some miscellaneous X server options. The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B NoTrapSignals This prevents the X server from trapping a range of unexpected fatal signals and exiting cleanly. Instead, the X server will die and drop core where the fault occurred. The default behaviour is for the X server exit cleanly, but still drop a core file. In general you never want to use this option unless you are debugging an X server problem. .TP 8 .B DontZap This disallows the use of the \fBCtrl+Alt+Backspace\fP sequence. This sequence allows you to terminate the X server. Setting \fBDontZap\fP allows this key sequence to be passed to clients. .TP 8 .B DontZoom This disallows the use of the \fBCtrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus\fP and \fBCtrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus\fP sequences. These sequences allows you to switch between video modes. Setting \fBDontZoom\fP allows these key sequences to be passed to clients. .PP The \fBKeyboard\fP section is used to specify the keyboard input device, parameters and some default keyboard mapping options. The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B Protocol \fI"kbd-protocol"\fP \fIkbd-protocol\fP may be either \fBStandard\fP or \fBXqueue\fP. \fBXqueue\fP is specified when using the event queue driver on SVR3 or SVR4. .TP .B AutoRepeat \fIdelay rate\fP changes the behavior of the autorepeat of the keyboard. This does not work on all platforms. .TP 8 .B ServerNumLock forces the X server to handle the numlock key internally. The X server sends a different set of keycodes for the numpad when the numlock key is active. This enables applications to make use of the numpad. .PP .nf .B LeftAlt \fImapping\fP .B RightAlt \fImapping\fP .B AltGr \fImapping\fP .B ScrollLock \fImapping\fP .B RightCtl \fImapping\fP .fi .RS 8 Allows a default mapping to be set for the above keys (note that \fBAltGr\fP is a synonym for \fBRightAlt\fP). The values that may be specified for \fImapping\fP are: .sp .in 20 .nf Meta Compose ModeShift ModeLock ScrollLock Control .fi .PP The default mapping when none of these options are specified is: .sp .in 20 .nf LeftAlt Meta RightAlt Meta ScrollLock Compose RightCtl Control .fi .RE .TP 8 .B XLeds \fIled\fP ... makes \fIled\fP available for clients instead of using the traditional function (Scroll Lock, Caps Lock & Num Lock). \fIled\fP is a list of numbers in the range 1 to 3. .TP 8 .B VTSysReq enables the SYSV-style VT switch sequence for non-SYSV systems which support VT switching. This sequence is Alt-SysRq followed by a function key (Fn). This prevents the X server trapping the keys used for the default VT switch sequence. .TP 8 .B VTInit \fI"command"\fP Runs \fIcommand\fP after the VT used by the server has been opened. The command string is passed to "/bin/sh -c", and is run with the real user's id with stdin and stdout set to the VT. The purpose of this option is to allow system dependent VT initialisation commands to be run. One example is a command to disable the 2-key VT switching sequence which is the default on some systems. .PP The \fBPointer\fP section is used to specify the pointer device and parameters. The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B Protocol \fI"protocol-type\fP" specifies the pointer device protocol type. The protocol types available are: .sp .in 20 .nf .B BusMouse .B Logitech .B Microsoft .B MMSeries .B Mouseman .B MouseSystems .B PS/2 .B MMHitTab .B Xqueue .B OSMouse .fi .in -20 .RS 8 .PP One should specify \fBBusMouse\fP for the Logitech bus mouse. Also, many newer Logitech serial mice use either the \fBMicrosoft\fP or \fBMouseMan\fP protocol. \fBXqueue\fP should be specified here if it was used in the \fBKeyboard\fP section. \fBOSMouse\fP refers to the event-driver mouse interface available on SCO's SVR3. This may optionally be followed by a number specifying the number of buttons the mouse has. .RE .TP 8 .B Device \fI"pointer-dev"\fP specifies the device the server should open for pointer input (eg, \fB/dev/tty00\fP or \fB/dev/mouse\fP). A device should not be specified when using the \fBXqueue\fP or \fBOSMouse\fP protocols. .TP 8 .B BaudRate \fIrate\fP sets the baudrate of the serial mouse to \fIrate\fP. For mice that allow dynamic speed adjustments (like Logitech) the baudrate is changed in the mouse. Otherwise the rate is simply set on the computer's side to allow mice with non-standard rates (the standard rate is 1200). .TP 8 .B Emulate3Buttons enables the emulation of the third mouse button for mice which only have two physical buttons. The third button is emulated by pressing both buttons simultaneously. .TP 8 .B ChordMiddle handles mice which send left+right events when the middle button is used (like some Logitech Mouseman mice). .TP 8 .B SampleRate \fIrate\fP sets the number of motion/button-events the mouse sends per second. This is currently only supported for some Logitech mice. .TP 8 .B ClearDTR This option clears the DTR line on the serial port used by the mouse. This option is only valid for a mouse using the \fBMouseSystems\fP protocol. Some dual-protocol mice require DTR to be cleared to operate in MouseSystems mode. Note, in versions of XFree86 prior to 2.1, this option also cleared the RTS line. A separate \fBClearRTS\fP option has since been added for mice which require this. .TP 8 .B ClearRTS This option clears the RTS line on the serial port used by the mouse. This option is only valid for a mouse using the \fBMouseSystems\fP protocol. Some dual-protocol mice require both DTR and RTS to be cleared to operate in MouseSystems mode. Both the \fBClearDTR\fP and \fBClearRTS\fP options should be used for such mice. .PP The \fBMonitor\fP sections are used to define the specifications of a monitor and a list of video modes suitable for use with a monitor. More than one \fBMonitor\fP section may be present in an XF86Config file. The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B Identifier \fI"ID string"\fP This specifies a string by which the monitor can be referred to in a later \fBScreen\fP section. Each \fBMonitor\fP section should have a unique ID string. .TP 8 .B VendorName \fI"vendor"\fP This optional entry specifies the monitor's manufacturer. .TP 8 .B ModelName \fI"model"\fP This optional entry specifies the monitor's model. .TP 8 .B Bandwidth \fIbandwidth\fP This optional entry specifies the bandwith of the monitor. By default \fIbandwidth\fP is in units of MHz. It may be specified in kHz or Hz if \fBkHz\fP or \fBHz\fP is appended to the number. .TP 8 .B HorizSync \fIhorizsync-range\fP gives the range(s) of horizontal sync frequencies supported by the monitor. \fIhorizsync-range\fP may be a comma separated list of either discrete values or ranges of values. A range of values is two values separated by a dash. By default the values are in units of kHz. They may be specified in MHz or Hz if \fBMHz\fP or \fBHz\fP is added to the end of the line. The data given here is used by the X server to determine if video modes are within the specifications of the monitor. This information should be available in the monitor's handbook. .TP 8 .B VertRefresh \fIvertrefresh-range\fP gives the range(s) of vertical refresh frequencies supported by the monitor. \fIvertrefresh-range\fP may be a comma separated list of either discrete values or ranges of values. A range of values is two values separated by a dash. By default the values are in units of Hz. They may be specified in MHz or kHz if \fBMHz\fP or \fBkHz\fP is added to the end of the line. The data given here is used by the X server to determine if video modes are within the specifications of the monitor. This information should be available in the monitor's handbook. .TP 8 .B Gamma \fIgamma-value(s)\fP This is an optional entry that can be used to specify the gamma correction for the monitor. It may be specified as either a single value or as three separate RGB values. Not all X servers are capable of using this information. .TP 8 .B Mode \fI"name"\fP indicates the start of a multi-line video mode description. The mode description is terminated with an \fBEndMode\fP line. The mode description consists of the following entries: .sp .RS 8 .TP 4 .B DotClock \fIclock\fP is the dot clock rate to be used for the mode. .TP 4 .B HTimings \fIhdisp hsyncstart hsyncend htotal\fP specifies the horizontal timings for the mode. .TP 4 .B VTimings \fIvdisp vsyncstart vsyncend vtotal\fP specifies the vertical timings for the mode. .TP 4 .B Flags \fI"flag" ...\fP specifies an optional set of mode flags. \fB"Interlace"\fP indicates that the mode is interlaced. \fB"DoubleScan"\fP indicates a mode where each scanline is doubled. \fB"+HSync"\fP and \fB\"-HSync"\fP can be used to select the polarity of the HSync signal. \fB"+VSync"\fP and \fB\"-VSync"\fP can be used to select the polarity of the VSync signal. \fB"Composite"\fP, can be used to specify composite sync on hardware where this is supported. Additionally, on some hardware, \fB"+CSync"\fP and \fB"-CSync"\fP may be used to select the composite sync polarity. .RE .TP 8 .B Modeline \fI"name" mode-description\fP is a single line format for specifying video modes. The \fImode-description\fP is in four sections, the first three of which are mandatory. The first is the pixel clock. This is a single number specifying the pixel clock rate for the mode. The second section is a list of four numbers specifying the horizontal timings. These numbers are the \fIhdisp\fP, \fIhsyncstart\fP, \fIhsyncend\fP, \fIhtotal\fP. The third section is a list of four numbers specifying the vertical timings. These numbers are \fIvdisp\fP, \fIvsyncstart\fP, \fIvsyncend\fP, \fIvtotal\fP. The final section is a list of flags specifying other characteristics of the mode. \fBInterlace\fP indicates that the mode is interlaced. \fB"DoubleScan"\fP indicates a mode where each scanline is doubled. \fB+HSync\fP and \fB\-HSync\fP can be used to select the polarity of the HSync signal. \fB+VSync\fP and \fB\-VSync\fP can be used to select the polarity of the VSync signal. \fBComposite\fP can be used to specify composite sync on hardware where this is supported. Additionally, on some hardware, \fB"+CSync"\fP and \fB"-CSync"\fP may be used to select the composite sync polarity. .PP The \fBDevice\fP sections are used to define a graphics device (video board). More than one \fBDevice\fP section may be present in an XF86Config file. The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B Identifier \fI"ID string"\fP This specifies a string by which the graphics device can be referred to in a later \fBScreen\fP section. Each \fBDevice\fP section should have a unique ID string. .TP 8 .B VendorName \fI"vendor"\fP This optional entry specifies the graphics device's manufacturer. .TP 8 .B BoardName \fI"model"\fP This optional entry specifies the name of the graphics device. .TP 8 .B Chipset \fI"chipset-type"\fP This optional entry specifies the chipset used on the graphics board. In most cases this entry is not required because the X servers will probe the hardware to determine the chipset type. .TP 8 .B Ramdac \fI"ramdac-type"\fP This optional entry specifies the type of RAMDAC used on the graphics board. This is only used by a few of the X servers, and in most cases it is not required because the X servers will probe the hardware to determine the RAMDAC type where possible. .TP 8 .B DacSpeed \fIspeed\fP This optional entry specifies the RAMDAC speed rating (which is usually printed on the RAMDAC chip). The speed is in MHz. This is only used by a few of the X servers, and only needs to be specified when the speed rating of the RAMDAC is different from the default built in to the X server. .TP 8 .B Clocks \fIclock ...\fP specifies the dotclocks that are on your graphics board. The clocks are in MHz, and may be specified as a floating point number. The value is stored internally to the nearest kHz. The ordering of the clocks is important. It must match the order in which they are selected on the graphics board. Multiple \fBClocks\fP lines may be specified. For boards with programmable clock chips, the \fBClockChip\fP entry should be used instead of this. A \fBClocks\fP entry is not mandatory for boards with non-programmable clock chips, but is highly recommended because it prevents the clock probing phase during server startup. This clock probing phase can cause problems for some monitors. .TP 8 .B ClockChip \fI"clockchip-type"\fP This optional entry is used to specify the clock chip type on graphics boards which have a programmable clock generator. Only a few X servers support programmable clock chips. For details, see the appropriate X server manual page. .TP 8 .B ClockProg \fI"command"\fP [\fItextclock\fP] This optional entry runs \fIcommand\fP to set the clock on the graphics board instead of using the internal code. The command string must consist of the full pathname (and no flags). When using this option, a \fBClocks\fP entry is required to specify which clock values are to be made available to the server (up to 128 clocks may be specified). The optional \fItextclock\fP value is used to tell the server that \fIcommand\fP must be run to restore the textmode clock at server exit (or when VT switching). \fItextclock\fP must match one of the values in the \fBClocks\fP entry. This parameter is required when the clock used for text mode is a programmable clock. The command is run with the real user's id with stdin and stdout set to the graphics console device. Two arguments are passed to the command. The first is the clock frequency in MHz as a floating point number and the second is the index of the clock in the \fBClocks\fP entry. The command should return an exit status of 0 when successful, and something in the range 1\-254 otherwise. The command is run when the initial graphics mode is set and when changing screen resolution with the hot-key sequences. If the program fails at initialisation the server exits. If it fails during a mode switch, the mode switch is aborted but the server keeps running. It is assumed that if the command fails the clock has not been changed. .TP 8 .B Option \fI"optionstring"\fP This optional entry allows the user to select certain options provided by the drivers. Multiple \fBOption\fP entries may be given. The supported values for \fIoptionstring\fP are given in the appropriate X server manual pages. .TP 8 .B VideoRam \fImem\fP This optional entry specifies the amount of videoram that is installed on the graphics board. This is measured in kBytes. In most cases this is not required because the X server probes the graphics board to determine this quantity. .TP 8 .B BIOSBase \fIbaseaddress\fP This optional entry specifies the base address of the video BIOS for the VGA board. This address is normally 0xC0000, which is the default the X servers will use. Some systems, particularly those with on-board VGA hardware, have the BIOS located at an alternate address, usually 0xE0000. If your video BIOS is at an address other than 0xC0000, you must specify the base address in the XF86Config file. Note that some X servers don't access the BIOS at all, and those which do only uses the BIOS when searching for information during the hardware probe phase. .TP 8 .B MemBase \fIbaseaddress\fP This optional entry specifies the memory base address of a graphics board's linear frame buffer. This entry is only used by a few X servers, and the interpretation of this base address may be different for different X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B IOBase \fIbaseaddress\fP This optional entry specifies the IO base address. This entry is only used for a few X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B DACBase \fIbaseaddress\fP This optional entry specifies the DAC base address. This entry is only used for a few X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B POSBase \fIbaseaddress\fP This optional entry specifies the POS base address. This entry is only used for a few X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B COPBase \fIbaseaddress\fP This optional entry specifies the coprocessor base address. This entry is only used for a few X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B Instance \fInumber\fP This optional entry specifies the instance (which indicates of the chip is integrated on the motherboard or on an expansion card). This entry is only used for a few X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B Speedup \fI"selection"\fP This optional entry specifies the selection of speedups to be enabled. This entry is only used for a few X servers. Refer to the appropriate X server manual page for details. .TP 8 .B S3MNAdjust \fIM N\fP This optional entry is specific to the S3 X server. For details, refer to the \fIXF86_S3(1)\fP manual page. .PP The \fBScreen\fP sections are used to specify which graphics boards and monitors will be used with a particular X server, and the configuration in which they are to be used. The entries available for this section are: .TP 8 .B Driver \fI"driver-name"\fP Each \fBScreen\fP section must begin with a \fBDriver\fP entry, and the \fIdriver-name\fP given in each \fBScreen\fP section must be unique. The driver name determines which X server (or driver type within an X server when an X server supports more than one head) reads and uses a particular \fBScreen\fP section. The driver names available are: .sp .in 20 .nf .B Accel .B Mono .B SVGA .B VGA2 .B VGA16 .fi .in -20 .RS 8 .PP \fBAccel\fP is used by all the accelerated X servers (see \fIXF86_Accel(1)\fP). \fBMono\fP is used by the non-VGA mono drivers in the 2-bit and 4-bit X servers (see \fIXF86_Mono(1)\fP and \fIXF86_VGA16(1)\fP). \fBVGA2\fP and \fBVGA16\fP are used by the VGA drivers in the 2-bit and 4-bit X servers respectively. \fBSVGA\fP is used by the XF86_SVGA X server. .RE .TP 8 .B Device \fI"device-id"\fP specifies which graphics device description is to be used. .TP 8 .B Monitor \fI"monitor-id"\fP specifies which monitor description is to be used. .TP 8 .B ScreenNo \fIscrnum\fP This optional entry overrides the default screen numbering in a multi-headed configuration. The default numbering is determined by the ordering of the \fBScreen\fP sections in the \fIXF86Config\fP file. To override this, all relevant \fBScreen\fP sections must have this entry specified. .TP .B SubSection \fB"Display"\fP This entry is a subsection which is used to specify some display specific parameters. This subsection is terminated by an \fBEndSubSection\fP entry. For some X servers and drivers (those requiring a list of video modes) this subsection is mandatory. For X servers which support multiple display depths, more than one \fBDisplay\fP subsection may be present. When multiple \fBDisplay\fP subsections are present, each must have a unique \fBDepth\fP entry. The entries available for the \fBDisplay\fP subsection are: .RS 8 .TP 4 .B Depth \fIbpp\fP This entry is mandatory when more than one \fBDisplay\fP subsection is present in a \fBScreen\fP section. When only one \fBDisplay\fP subsection is present, it specifies the default depth that the X server will run at. When more than one \fBDisplay\fP subsection is present, the depth determines which gets used by the X server. The subsection used is the one matching the depth at which the X server is run at. Not all X servers (or drivers) support more than one depth. Permitted values for \fIbpp\fP are 8, 15, 16, 24 and 32. Not all X servers (or drivers) support all of these values. \fIbpp\fP values of 24 and 32 are treated equivalently by those X servers which support them. .TP 4 .B Weight \fIRGB\fP This optional entry specifies the relative RGB weighting to be used for an X server running at 16bpp. This may also be specified from the command line (see \fIXFree86(1)\fP). Values supported by most 16bpp X servers are \fB555\fP and \fB565\fP. For further details, refer to the appropriate X server manual page. .TP 4 .B Virtual \fIxdim ydim\fP This optional entry specifies the virtual screen resolution to be used. \fIxdim\fP must be a multiple of either 8 or 16 for most colour X servers, and a multiple of 32 for the monochrome X server. The given value will be rounded down if this is not the case. For most X servers, video modes which are too large for the specified virtual size will be rejected. If this entry is not present, the virtual screen resolution will be set to accomodate all the valid video modes given in the \fBModes\fP entry. Some X servers do not support this entry. Refer to the appropriate X server manual pages for details. .TP 4 .B ViewPort \fIx0 y0\fP This optional entry sets the upper left corner of the initial display. This is only relevant when the virtual screen resolution is different from the resolution of the initial video mode. If this entry is not given, then the initial display will be centered in the virtual display area. .TP 4 .B Modes \fI"modename" ...\fP This entry is mandatory for most X servers, and it specifies the list of video modes to use. The video mode names must correspond to those specified in the appropriate \fBMonitor\fP section. Most X servers will delete modes from this list which don't satisfy various requirements. The first valid mode in this list will be the default display mode for startup. The list of valid modes is converted internally into a circular list. It is possible to switch to the next mode with \fBCtrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus\fP and to the previous mode with \fBCtrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus\fP. .TP 4 .B Visual \fI"visual-name"\fP This optional entry sets the default root visual type. This may also be specified from the command line (see \fIXserver(1)\fP). The visual types available for 8bpp X servers are (default is \fBPseudoColor\fP): .RE .sp .in 20 .nf .B StaticGray .B GrayScale .B StaticColor .B PseudoColor .B TrueColor .B DirectColor .fi .in -20 .RS 12 .PP The visual type available for the 16bpp and 32bpp X servers is \fBTrueColor\fP. .PP The visual type available for the 1bpp X server is \fBStaticGray\fP. .PP The visual types available for the 4bpp X server are (default is \fBPseudoColor\fP): .RE .sp .in 20 .nf .B StaticGray .B GrayScale .B StaticColor .B PseudoColor .fi .in -20 .RS 8 .TP 4 .B Option \fI"optionstring"\fP This optional entry allows the user to select certain options provided by the drivers. Multiple \fBOption\fP entries may be given. The supported values for \fIoptionstring\fP are given in the appropriate X server manual pages. .TP 4 .B Black \fIred green blue\fP This optional entry allows the ``black'' colour to be specified. This is only supported with the VGA2 driver in the XF86_Mono server (for details see \fIXF86_Mono(1)\fP). .TP 4 .B White \fIred green blue\fP This optional entry allows the ``white'' colour to be specified. This is only supported with the VGA2 driver in the XF86_Mono server (for details see \fIXF86_Mono(1)\fP). .RE .PP For an example of an XF86Config file, see the file installed as /lib/X11/XF86Config.eg. .SH FILES .PP .nf /etc/XF86Config /lib/X11/XF86Config.\fIhostname\fP /lib/X11/XF86Config .sp 1 Note: refers to the root of the X11 install tree. .fi .SH "SEE ALSO" X(1), Xserver(1), XFree86(1), XF86_SVGA(1), XF86_VGA16(1), XF86_Mono(1), XF86_S3(1), XF86_8514(1), XF86_Mach8(1), XF86_Mach32(1), XF86_P9000(1), XF86_AGX(1), XF86_W32(1). .SH AUTHORS .PP Refer to the .I XFree86(1) manual page.